Lara Adejoro Five years after the Federal Government signed into law, the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, a new report has shown that 17 out of 36 states in the country are yet to adopt the Disability Act. The report was carried out by Agora Policy, a Nigerian think tank and non-profit organisation committed to finding practical solutions to urgent national challenges. Former President Muhammadu Buhari, in 2019 signed into law, the Disability Act which prohibits all forms of discrimination against persons with disability.
The organisation conducts policy research, facilitates frank and purposeful dialogue, and builds capacity for governance, policy, and advocacy. This was even as stakeholders called on the government to address the disability data gaps and discrimination against People With Disabilities. The Agora Policy report obtained by our correspondent stressed the need for the Federal Government to tackle these issues in Nigeria.
It noted, “The Disability Act has only been adopted in 19 out of the 36 states in Nigeria and, therefore, has the force of law in only those 19 states.” The states that had domesticated the Act are Lagos, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Bauchi, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto, Zamfara, Abia, Anambra, Cross River, Edo, Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, and Enugu. The report lamented that the PWDs in the remaining 17 states are without legal protection from discrimination.
Last year, the Centre for Citizens with Disabi.